1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a counterweight used to balance a night vision goggle (NVG) on various military ballistic protection helmets.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Military personnel for training and combat missions, wear protective helmets. These helmets typically include various accessories, such as attached ear cups and thin armed microphones. During night operations, a soldier or marine may wear a NVG attached to the front of his or her ballistic helmet to permit vision in the dark. A NVG typically uses a mounting plate that hooks under the brow of the helmet. This plate is held in place by a strap that stretches over the crown of the helmet and has a bracket that hooks under the rear edge of the helmet near the nape of the wearer""s neck. The strap is tightened by a locking tensioning lever that secures the mounting plate.
The weight of the NVG (often two pounds or more) tends to force the brow of the ballistic helmet forwardly and downwardly. Over time the strain of countering this weight can cause significant neck strain and headaches for the wearer.
An object of the invention is to eliminate the strain caused by the NVG.
Broadly, a counterweight is attached to the back of the ballistic helmet to balance this load on the wearer""s head. The counterweight is designed to ensure that it functions in combination with the other accessories that can be used with the ballistic helmet.
A counterweight embodying the invention comprises a back plate having fingers extending from the upper end of the back plate. The fingers extend inwardly to engage the helmet. The fingers space the back plate apart from the surface of the helmet to define a slot with the helmet. A pair of arms are joined to the back plate and extend laterally outward from the back plate and define a recess on the inner surface of the back plate. The arms include guide surfaces. Hooks are secured to and extend inwardly from the guide surfaces. The hooks engage the rear edge of the helmet. The back plate has a recess defined in its outer surface which recess is partially in registration with the recess on the inner surface of the back plate. The NVG""s bracket that normally hooks under the rear edge of the helmet, hooks in the recesses of the back plate. The counterweight is also shaped to provide a clearance for the ear cup tensioning systems used in ballistic helmets, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,298.